Grants for Emerging Technology Activities

Have an idea that helps connect emerging technologies or applications with the computing community? Or a way to support members and constituents using emerging technologies to benefit humanity? Submit your proposal for a new project, program, or innovative activity, and be considered for up to US $50,000 or more in funding from The IEEE Computer Society through the Emerging Tech Grants Program. In the last couple of years, the IEEE Computer Society funded several proposals that created student competitions, a lecture program, a discussion forum on an emerging topic, and advanced technology television series.

Computer Society is looking for new types of projects, activities and events not already covered by existing program areas.

• Have an idea around the next coolest technology out there?
• Are you ready to experiment with an out of the box idea?
• Do you have an innovative concept to convene a community around a new emerging technology?
• Have an idea to advance a concept from either the IEEE Future Directions Roadmap or IEEE CS Technology Trends?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions or if you have an idea for an activity focused on an emerging technology, don’t miss this chance to make it a reality!

Submissions are now open. Submit your proposal before 21 April 2024.

For more information, please read the frequently asked questions below.

SUBMIT PROPOSAL

Submitter Name, Title, Affiliation, Email Address, and Country

IEEE Membership Number (at least one member of the proposal team should be an IEEE or IEEE CS member)

Project/Activity/Event Title

Project/Activity/Event Description (limited to 50 words)

Total funds requested (seeking proposals ranging from US $5,000 to US $25,000 but larger projects/activities will also be considered)

Project/Activity/Event Budget Breakdown (identify major expenditures)

Plan for Fund Management – Please indicate whether funds will be managed by University, IEEE Section/Chapter or other. (limited to 250 words)

Key Objectives (e.g., please indicate the emerging technology addressed, comment on impact, consider the full lifecycle and long-term sustainability if applicable), Milestones, and Timeline (limit to 250 words)

Expected results in 2-5 key measurements (identify top goals and how they will be measured) (limited to 100 words)

Lead Team Members with Short Biographies (limit to 5 individuals) (limit to 500 words)

Potential connection to existing CS programs and/or products (identify any existing programs with which this proposal is connected) (if applicable; limited to 50 words)

A final impact report and video will be required from all funded projects and activities.

[ ] I acknowledge and agree to initiate discussions no later than three weeks after proposal award notification.

[ ] If agreements are not able to be established within three months, I acknowledge that the proposal may be withdrawn.

[ ] I acknowledge and agree to create a video and impact report.

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Major awards (grants over $30,000):

• AI Perceptions Workshop Series
• Metaverse Hackathon
• Cybersecurity Capture the Flag (CTF) Event
• Digital Platforms and Societal Harms Tech Forum

Minor awards (grants up to $5,000):

• Be Cyber Smart CyberTron
• Business Plan Competition
• “Hack the CS2023” Television Series
• Research Network for Quantum Artificial Intelligence
• XR Ethics in Action Newsletter and Community Hackathon

• IEEE Quarter Tech Talk Table Series
• Technology against Tornado (TaT) Student Competition and Expo
• A Research Network for Quantum Machine Intelligence
• IEEE CS Young Professional Lecture Program 2022
• A Hardware Security Hackathon for Region 2
• Cooperative Human-Robot Swarm Computation
• Economies of Scale for FPGA Education
• Annual Competition on Emerging Issues of Data Security and Privacy
• Extending Education with Extended Reality in Egypt

Emerging technologies, in the context of this call for proposals, is a technical field that is not yet (or not adequately) addressed by existing work within the society.

• A new technology not currently addressed by Computer Society activities with promising benefits for applicability and impact;
• A technology addressed by Computer Society activities, but which would benefit from activities that address additional aspects not currently covered, such as societal impact, ethics, or security;
• An application of a new or existing technology addressed by Computer Society activities to a new domain, field, or vertical market, such as healthcare or automotive systems.

Proposals should clearly articulate why the activity fills a compelling gap, explores a new technology area or helps introduce an innovative activity for the Computer Society. The scope or budget may be asked to be modified by the selection committee to meet objectives of this program.

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We are looking for new types of activities that are not already covered by the Computer Society. Creative, innovative ideas are encouraged.

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No. There are already mechanisms at the Computer Society to propose new conferences and publications.

For proposing new conferences, review the list of Computer Society Technical Communities (TCs), look for the one with the closest affinity to the proposal, and contact the TC Chair directly. They will walk you through the application process for new conferences. You can also view the list of existing and upcoming CS Sponsored Conferences at: https://www.computer.org/conferences/calendar.

For proposing new publications, contact the Computer Society Publications department at periodicals@computer.org.

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Decisions will be communicated in May via email to the proposal submitter.

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Please direct any questions to emergingtech@computer.org.

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Proposals ranging from US $5,000 to US $25,000 will be considered. Larger proposals, up to a maximum of US $50,000, will be considered, but only one or two of these may be awarded.

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All awarded funds should be used within 12-18 months. Unused funds will not be carried over to the next year unless an exception is approved by the selection committee due to extenuating circumstances.

All grant agreement information and materials must be submitted by the awardee within 30 days of receipt for the funding to be disbursed. Late materials or unresponsiveness may result in a retraction of the grant approval.

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Indirect expenses related to facilities costs may be added to the budget but not compensation to an individual as the intent of these projects is for the execution of the proposal to be done by volunteers.

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A final impact report and video is expected from all funded projects and activities. More details about the deliverables will be communicated to proposal teams selected for funding.

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Proposals will be evaluated for innovation/creativity, impact on target audience, potential to impact the future of the Society and/or Humanity and/or Computer Society members and customers, relevance to computing and alignment with emerging technology funding program goals detailed above.

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Do you anticipate longer-term impact & do you see any potential follow-on in future years? If you anticipate follow-on, what do you anticipate for support in the future?

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Proposals will be executed as Computer Society activities; therefore, any surplus will be part of the overall Computer Society budget.

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Yes. Activities in which non-Computer Society members can participate may be good visibility for the Society and serve the larger community.

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One member of the proposal team must be an IEEE or IEEE CS member. We encourage team members listed in the proposal to be Computer Society members.

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Applications are welcomed from all countries where funds can be legally sent from the United States of America.

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Please direct any questions to emergingtech@computer.org.

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